Tips for Optimizing your Age of Empires Experience – Age of Empires Support

Before you begin playing your new Age of Empires game, consider the following tips to ensure the best experience while playing:

🛠 Play on a Smaller Map with a Lower Population

The larger the map and higher the population, the more it will tax your computer and the computers of other players in your match. If you’re having performance problems, try creating a smaller map or maxing your population at 200 per team.

🛠 Close Any Background Applications

This will help mitigate any disruptions while you’re playing Age of Empires. You can see what applications are currently running by pressing ALT + SHIFT + Esc to open the Task Manager window.

🛠 Monitor your Network Usage

Make sure your internet is equipped to handle a multiplayer online experience. Your PC will be communicating with several others throughout the world, so ensure that you have your networking setup to maximize your access to the internet.

Limit the number of devices accessing the same network ports as Age of Empires.
Close other programs accessing the internet, including any web browsers, other game clients, etc.

To get the best experience playing Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, make sure you open or forward these ports on your firewall or network hardware:

Port 3478 (UDP & TCP), Port 5222 (UDP & TCP)

These steps will help you minimize your network lag and improve your multiplayer experience. There is also the option to “Host as Dedicated Server” in the in-game multiplayer options that will help minimize issues if you encounter them.

🛠 Choose the Optimal Display Resolution

Setting your display resolution higher than the recommended option may impact your game’s framerate. To change your computer’s resolution:

Right-click on your desktop and select Display Settings.
Select Advanced Display Settings.
Select Recommended.

🛠 Set your Game Speed

Each Age of Empires game lets you set the default speed of the game. Slower speeds offer a more casual approach to the battlefield, while faster speeds lead to shorter, more action-packed games. You can adjust this setting at any time when playing single-player, or at the start of a multiplayer match.

IN AGE OF EMPIRES: DEFINITIVE EDITION:

From the main menu, go to Options > Settings > Speed (far left).
Check the box next to the desired Speed option.

IN AGE OF EMPIRES II: DEFINITIVE EDITION:

From the main menu, go to Options > Game > Game Speed.
Use the drop-down menu to select your preferred game speed.

🛠 Set your Display Zoom Level

Most Age of Empires games feature a “Display Zoom” setting that zooms the camera out so players can see more of the playable environment. Note that lower zoom settings will allow you to see more of the battlefield, which will simultaneously increase the number of assets on screen at any given time. This can lead to performance problems, so adjust accordingly.

To change this setting: